Ripple’s XRP Ledger recently recovered from a network disruption that halted validations for over an hour, as confirmed by Ripple’s chief technology officer.
The network freeze occurred at block height 93927174, lasting for 64 minutes before the blockchain was rebooted on February 4 at 10:58 am UTC, according to XRPL’s explorer.
Ripple’s technology chief, David Schwartz, explained in a Feb. 4 X post that while consensus was still running, validations weren’t being published, causing the network to drift.
He mentioned that validator operators had to intervene manually to establish a “sane starting point” and rebuild consensus to bring the network back to a coordinated ledger. Schwartz clarified that his observations were preliminary, and Ripple was still investigating the cause.
Schwartz also noted that only a few Unique Node List validators needed to make changes to restart the network, suggesting the possibility that the network might have spontaneously recovered.
RippleX’s X account noted that customer funds remained safe during the incident.
XRPSCAN data indicates that around 2 million transactions are processed daily, from 30,000 to 60,000 unique senders. The network halts likely delayed about 88,000 transactions.
The disruption led to discussions about Ripple’s centralized structure, especially after Daniel Keller, CTO of XRPL node operator Eminence, pointed out that all 35 nodes had resumed validating transactions.
Centralization concerns have often been raised about XRP Ledger, particularly in contrast to competing blockchains like Ethereum, which is working toward greater decentralization with over 1 million active validators securing its network.
This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of network stability and decentralization in the cryptocurrency space. While the XRP Ledger has demonstrated resilience in recovering from this disruption, the event highlights the potential vulnerabilities associated with a more centralized network architecture.
